In recent years the design of automobiles and similar vehicles has called for the location of the ignition lock to be on the side of the steering column. This lock serves the dual purpose of locking the steering column to prevent the wheels from being steered and locking the ignition system to prevent the motor from starting.
If the owner of a car loses his keys, jams his ignition lock, or for some other reason wishes to have a lock in his car changed, a locksmith or a mechanic may be called upon to remove the lock cylinder in the steering column and insert a new lock cylinder. In the past, changing the lock cylinder has necessitated removing the steering wheel and disassembling the steering column. The lock cylinder is held in place by a retaining pin, and the steering column had to be disassembled in order to free the retaining pin so that the cylinder could be removed. Removal of the steering wheel is a complicated and time-consuming process. In addition to pulling off the steering wheel, disassembling the steering column involves disconnecting the turn signals and flasher signals. Once the lock is removed, the entire steering column has to be reassembled, and reassembly is even a more complicated procedure. The presence of a collapsable steering column or a tiltable steering wheel adds further complications. As a result, changing the lock cylinder in an automobile or similar vehicle has been an expensive and tedious process.
To remedy some of the problems associated with the removal of automobile ignition locks, the automobile lock removal tool disclosed in my co-pending U.S. Pat. application Ser. No. 557,821, filed Mar. 12, 1975, issued as U.S. Pat. No. 3,972,103, was developed. This tool uses an inner collet which grips the rim around the lock cylinder after removal of the head which covers the cylinder. The tool also embodies an outer housing that is hollow to fit over the collet and has a flat forward edge to bear against the surface of the rim of the lock enclosure around the ignition lock cylinder. Retracting means are provided for pulling the collet into the housing to remove the lock cylinder. This type of lock removal tool has been found to be satisfactory for those automobiles in which the lock head is easily removable and in which the rim of the lock enclosure around the ignition lock provides a sufficient bearing surface for the outer housing, such as in late-model automobiles manufactured by General Motors Corporation. However, in automobiles manufactured by Ford Motor Company and others, the lock head is not easily removable nor is sufficient bearing surface provided on the rim of the lock enclosure around the ignition lock. Since the lock head is not removable, collet-type constructions for gripping the lock cylinder are impractical.